County library offers free financial wellness classes

Those holiday bills are rolling in, and money might be a bit tight right now. Or it’s the New Year, and residents have resolved to manage their finances in 2019, rather than letting the bills manage them.

Whatever the case, the San Diego County Library can help residents meet their financial goals. For the fourth year in a row, the County Library is partnering with San Diego County Credit Union to offer Financial Wellness Wednesdays, a series of free classes designed to help residents manage their money.

To get started, SDCCU has five tips residents can use right now to stretch dollars: get organized, set a goal, create a budget, pay off debt and stick to it.

Financial Wellness Wednesdays classes are available at county libraries from Fallbrook to Bonita to Borrego Springs and more than a dozen others.

SDCCU finance experts cover a wide range of topics such as “Building a Better Budget,” “10 Simple Ways to Financial Success,” “30 Ways to Trim Your Budget,” “College Financing 101,” “Teens and Money,” and “Raising a Money Smart Kid.” Other topics cover internet safety like “Preventing Identity Theft and Scams,” “Safeguarding Kids’ Identity” and “Online Privacy.”

“The county library is a lot more than just books; our branches are more like community centers,” Migell Acosta, director of the county library, said. “We offer a wide variety of classes in health, education and fitness. Financial Wellness Wednesdays is just another way we help customers improve their daily lives.”

“As with anything else, such as eating healthier or losing weight, having a road map is the first step in achieving financial success,” Sarah Bilyeu, the senior vice president of SDCCU Business Development and Community Relations, said. “Identify your goals, jot them down and make a road map on how to get there.”

Bilyeu said income doesn’t determine financial success, but the choices on how residents spend their money do. In other words, living within their means. Sometimes life circumstances like divorce, foreclosures and medical bills can lead to severe budget problems, but there is a class that addresses that too: “Rebuilding after a Financial Crisis.”

Financial Wellness Wednesdays classes run from now through March. Registration isn’t necessary, and visitors can take one class or the entire series. To find times and locations, visit http://www.sdcl.org.